RIYADH, 28 April 2007 — Riyadh-based Malath Cooperative Insurance and Reinsurance Company obtained its commercial registration from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on Wednesday.
“Ours is the first company to get this license under the Kingdom’s new insurance law, “ Malath Chairman Mubarak Al-Khafra said in a statement to the press.
Thanking Commerce and Industry Minister Hashim Yamani for his confidence in Malath and his unlimited support to the cooperative insurance sector to develop the Saudi economy, Al-Khafra said: “Completion of Malath’s commercial registration procedures as the first insurance company among newly licensed companies is considered the first step to commence our operations throughout the Kingdom.”
Malath has already started employing Saudi citizens who are professionally qualified.
“The company is also employing and training Saudi youths in an effort to develop this vital sector to achieve the goal of Saudization which had already reached more than 48 percent of Malath staff,” he said, referring to the country’s policy of requiring companies to meet certain quotas of Saudi workers.
Malath offered 47.48 percent of its total SR300 million capital for public offering through 14.2 million shares. This was the biggest percentage of shares offering among the new insurance companies that have been established recently. Malath has registered a huge number of subscribers, and more than 1.2 million subscribers in the IPO have paid more than SR 703 million at the end of IPO on Feb. 12, this year.
